No Happily Ever After (The Fairytale Diaries #1) (18 page)

All eyes snapped to Aspen Briar, who began to fight violently against her chains and scream despite her gag.

"Hello, dear one," said the ghostly woman in a voice that sounded like a desert wind.

Piper trembled against the woman, his black eyes wide with terror.  They made a fearsome pair, there under the murky light of the bare dirty bulbs overhead.  Together, they painted a picture of pure, unadulterated evil.

"Who are you?" Giselle wondered aloud.

The woman smiled, and it was so wide and ugly, it seemed as though her face would crack from it.  "Why don't you tell them, my darling?" she murmured.  She moved her hand of Piper's face just long enough to point at Aspen.  With the choppy motion of her pointing claw, Aspen's gag fell away, and the cuffs around her wrists suddenly released. 

Despite her sudden magical freedom, Aspen remained in her place next to Nicholas and cowered against him. 

"Aspen?" Hanley questioned, finally beginning to creep forward.  "You…  You know this creature?"

Tears poured down Aspen's dirt streaked face.  She nodded frantically.  "She's my aunt.  She's…  She's magic…"

"Obviously," Zoe Locke whispered, still gaping at the woman.

"Now then," the woman interjected.  She jerked Piper's head to the side and the man yelped.  "I'd love to snap his neck, and free you all!" she informed cheerfully.  "But there's just one thing.  I'll need my dear niece to agree to come with me."

Confusion buzzed among them all.  Finally, Aspen mustered the nerve to take her face away from Nicholas' shoulder and she peered at Melanie.  "Melanie," Aspen asked softly.  "Did you…  Did you make all this happen?  All of it?  It was you all along wasn't it?"

Melanie cackled, her frail body quaking against Piper.  "Impressive isn't it?  I am exceptionally creative when I want to be."

"But, but why?  If you're so powerful, why then, didn't you just take me?" Aspen pleaded.

Melanie and Aspen stood locked in each other's eyes for a time, exchanging unspoken communication that nobody else understood.  Tears bloomed in the dark woman's eyes.  "Well, the answer is simple really.  I can do most anything I could possibly imagine.  ANYTHING!" she shouted, as if to emphasize the point.  "Except for the one thing that I want most.  I can't
make
you come with me, Aspen.  You can't be forced into the darkness.  You must come willingly.  And so, I had to make it worth your while."

Hanley was still uncertain exactly what was going on, but he did not like the direction this conversation was taking.  "Aspen, don't listen to her.  Don't do anything she says."

"That's right, Aspen.  You still don't have to listen.  You don't have to do anything that I say," she imparted icily.  "But, if you choose to stay here, then, I will simply leave, just the way I came.  And this fellow can finish what I started in his own desired way."

Aspen wept.

"Or, I can kill him, and I can save all of your friends.  You come home with me, to the swamps, where you belong…  And all of your friends will be freed, and go on to live full, happy lives, just as you will."

"ASPEN!  DO NOT LISTEN TO HER!" Hanley demanded, taking quick steps toward the woman in black.  But, she leveled an angry glare on him, and with just the power of her black eyes, she blasted him backwards into the stone wall.  The force knocked the wind out of him and he slid to the floor.

Melanie began to sing.

Unlike Piper's magical tune, this song only appealed to Aspen.  As she heard the tune that had been buried in her mind all of her life, she recalled her parents.  They were gone; she was alone in the world.  She glanced around at each of the people in the tunnel, who'd been unknowingly dragged into the twisted tangle of her dark family history.  Even Piper, an unknowing pawn in an ancient game.  She had nowhere else to go.  So many had already died for her aunt's evil wish.  And, like it or not, the scary unknown future that she faced was her history, her roots, her heritage.

She had no choice.  Aspen nodded softly. 

Melanie smiled as she sang her song.  Tears sparkled on her face.  Without even missing one beat, the dark woman yanked Piper's head to the side and with a resounding snap, she killed him instantly.  His eyes bulged and tongue lulled out as he crumpled to the floor of the sewer.

She drifted past those still chained to the wall, still singing, and took Aspen's hand.  Together, the two of them turned their back to the rest and began to walk away.  Aspen's soft weeping could be heard, and they all watched her shoulders quake.  Melanie stopped and turned back to them.  With a sweep of her hands, the five remaining prisoners' chains snapped and released them.

"ASPEN!" Hanley shouted.

He kept shouting, but she would not turn around.  She and her aunt resumed their slow retreat, and then, just like that, they were gone.

Epilogue

Ten teenagers went down into the sewers, but only nine came out. 

Hanley and Nicholas climbed out first, then reached down to one by one help the girls out.  They all stood in the street, crying, hugging, and desperately trying to console one another.  When they calmed enough to speak, they unanimously decided that they could never explain what had transpired, since they didn't understand any of it.  So, they decided to lie.  Hanley, Giselle, Zoe, and Jennifer all agreed to go home and pretend they were none the wiser.  And the rest decided to walk to the police department and concoct a tale of suddenly waking up in the forest and not having any idea how they got there.

In the end, the town once more rejoiced at the return of their children, though there was also appropriate sadness for the orphan girl who still remained, missing. 

A month later, the weather had continued to warm, and a strange smell that had been permeating from the sewers became overwhelming.  This compelled city workers to go down to investigate the unnatural stench.  Much to their surprise, the decaying remains of one Detective Piper were found there. 

The pieces of the puzzle for the town of Faraway were never quiet put together.  Once Piper's body was recovered, everybody assumed that Aspen Briar's dead body would someday be recovered as well.

But nine friends kept the secret of Aspen's heroic choice close to their hearts.  They eventually all parted company permanently, the traumatic shared events simply too much for them to remain in contact.  But they all thought of Aspen every day and silently gave her thanks for their lives, wishing she could have been saved as well.

But, the truth is, that life is not a fairytale.  And, there is no happily ever after.

Enjoy the first chapter from the sequel to
No Happily Ever After
…

Wondernever
: The Fairytale Diaries, Book Two:

Chapter 1

Beyond the river, beyond the swamps, and beyond the black forests, there was a burg known as Enchantica.  Not in my time, not in your time, but in a very bad time of nightmares, a carnival caravan rolled into town.  Though the escape artist Joshua Cross believed the darkness was behind him as he basked in the warmth of the bayou sun, he would soon find that the story had only just begun.

Josh had never been to Louisiana before and he was beyond thrilled when
Carnaval de le Nuit crossed into the state.  Having grown up in a rather cold, dismal environment, he loved the prospect of warmth and constant brilliant sunshine.  The allure of the bayou drew him.

The carnival had been touring aggressively, visiting a new city each week.  So the performers had collectively decided on a location to set up for a whole month.  They would spend the entire month of June set up on the outskirts of Enchantica.

As soon as they arrived in town, Josh could feel a sense of history and magic.  Enchantica was comprised of colorful, ornate buildings and homes that told stories simply by existing.  The shuttered windows and beveled glass doors of the homes and businesses seemed to wink and smile as though they had secrets hidden within their walls.

Josh swiftly found that the main street of Enchantica was a happy, lively place.  Music could be heard lilting on the air at all hours of the day and night there.   Shopkeepers and locals spoke in slow southern drawls and wore wide smiles always.  Life moved at a relaxed pace and Josh found the contrast to his fast and busy existence quite lovely.

As the vans and trucks of Carnaval de le Nuit lumbered in, kicking up dust from the highway, they were met with smiles from those they passed.  Josh grew even more excited.  Not every town they visited welcomed them.  But in Enchantica, he felt at home before the caravan even came to a stop.  He began to feel he would have trouble wanting to leave again once thirty days came and went.

That afternoon, they landed and pitched their camp.  They spent the evening stretching their cramped limbs, unpacking, and relaxing.  After night settled over their collection of RVs and tents, all the performers gathered around a roaring bonfire.  They took one night to make merry and enjoy their new setting.  It was in the wee small hours of the morning when Josh finally dropped exhausted into his small bunk beneath a sunroof in the RV.  Starlight twinkled through a tangle of tree limbs which tossed in a gently breeze.  He drifted off to sleep pondering the inky sky.

The following two days were nothing but hard work.  He pitched in with the other carnies doing everything necessary to prepare for opening day.  The semi-trailers containing the attraction tents and the carnival's two rides had to be unpacked and assembled which were huge jobs that required painstaking assistance from all hands.  The museum of curiosities was another attraction that had to be carefully tended to.  Carnaval de le Nuit owned a collection of oddities known the world over, and they had to be handled attentively and protected.

Next, the wardrobe tent was assembled and organized.  Opulent sequined and feathered costumes, masks, and headdresses were placed next to the dressing areas.  A line of makeup tables and mirrors was carefully arranged to best accommodate the players when they prepared for their acts.

The food trucks were placed, opened, plugged in, and cleaned.  Soon, colored bulbs and neon lights buzzed, advertising every variety of fried food imaginable.  The scent of shoe string cut potatoes and cotton candy drifted on the sultry air.

By late in the evening, their second full day in Enchantica, the carnival was complete.  The music played to ensure everything electronic ran smoothly.  The carnies took turns on the rides, never tiring of spinning on the carousel, or enjoying the breeze on the ferris wheel while they studied their new locale from high in the sky.

Everything was perfect, and Carnaval de le Nuit was ready to open for business as soon as the sun rose.

***

Josh wasn't scheduled to work opening day until a six p.m. shift in the ticket booth, and then he'd perform his act at ten p.m.  He was the last show of the night.

Normally, Josh found the crowd of an opening day exciting.  He enjoyed the buzz of energy among delighted children, happy parents, and thrill seeking teens.  But that time, he was eager to wander into Enchantica and explore.  Mesmerized as he was by the place, he'd been dying to get some time alone to do as he pleased.  So he elected to skip the opening ceremony.  As soon as daylight woke the azure sky, Josh slipped out the makeshift gate and took to the road.

The carnival was situated on a large sprawl of land less than a mile outside Enchantica.  He didn't walk long before he found himself ambling up the same street they'd passed down upon arriving.

It was a gorgeous residential area with huge, old, perfectly maintained homes.  They all sat on hills that dripped with fragrant pink and lavender blossoms.  Willows danced in almost every yard and tall oaks lined either side of the street, creating a sort of tunnel and cool pleasant shade.  The sidewalks were old cobblestones.  It was all so different from where he'd grown up which had been mostly modern, modest, and efficient.  He'd come from the sort of place where people generally kept their blinds tightly shut and doors locked.  Whereas in Enchantica, the ornate bay windows were thrown wide open, and nothing but slamming screen doors posed as a barrier to nature and neighbors.  In his hometown, strangers had been polite, reserved, but mostly standoffish.  But in Enchantica, every stranger became a fast friend.

He felt more at home with each step that carried him closer to the center of town.  The neighborhood was already very much awake.  A paperboy road by on a Schwinn.  Children played in their yards.  Friendly folks waved at him as he meandered by.  He happily returned their smiles.

Soon, he came onto the main street of town where historic stone buildings loomed.  They were colorfully accented with hand painted murals depicting days gone by.  Each window and doorway was adorned with wrought iron filigree.  Balconies suspended two and three stories up sported flowerpots full of every manner of fern and every color of flower.  Josh deeply breathed the scent of warm bread.  The sound of a jazz brass band came from somewhere.  Doors up and down the street jingled as townsfolk came and went.

First, Josh made his way up the tall flight of flagstones leading up to the door of the Enchantica Public Library.  Books had been an escape of his in his former, awful life.  But in the last couple years, he'd been mostly too busy to read.  He decided since he'd be in town for a month, he'd get himself a library card.

After an hour amongst the lofty stacks of books, he reemerged into the sunshine with a couple Stephen King thrillers in his backpack.  He strolled down the main drag, and then veered onto a side street.

The road narrowed gradually as he proceeded.  Traffic grew scarce, buildings farther apart, and everything was decidedly quieter.  Ahead, he could see that the street eventually dead ended into a dense wood.  He imagined that a swamp land lay just through those trees.

A tiny café called Java Enchantica with an outdoor terrace beckoned to him and he wandered to a black iron table to take a seat.  The place was empty, save a waitress who abandoned a television show inside when she came out to tend to him. 

The waitress, a pretty caramel skinned teenager was boisterous and chatty, just as he'd imagined Enchanticans would be.  Soon, she brought him the bagel and iced tea he ordered.

It was just as he had withdrawn one of his books from his back pack, and lifted his bagel toward his lips that he saw her.

The shock of it caused him to drop the bagel.  It bounced off the plate, rolled across the small table, and fell to the patio's floor.  He didn't even notice.  He began to rise from his seat, gaping at the girl, but then sat back down.

There were two girls who'd entered the patio and sat across the way from him.  One of them was familiar.  She looked different than he recalled her.  At least she was dressed differently, in an oddly old fashioned blue jumper, a lacy white blouse, and black patent leather Mary Jane's. Her shining blonde hair curled neatly, and was held out of her face by a black bow and headband.

The girl with her wore normal clothes for an average teenager and had deeply tan skin, as had most people he'd seen so far in Enchantica.  But in sharp contrast, the girl he was familiar with, her skin was pale.  Her face drawn…  Her eyes wide.  She wore a look that seemed frightened as she leaned close to her companion, whispering.

Josh trembled slightly as he thought of his hometown, Faraway, Washington, for the first time in ages.  After he'd closely followed the news of the spree of murders and subsequent disappearances, he'd laid his former life to rest.  The crimes had enthralled him for months.  In a way, he'd secretly thought Faraway got what it deserved.  But in the end, the perpetrators were discovered and the mysteries solved.  The town moved on, and so had Joshua Cross.

Except, in the end, the whole thing had been left with one loose end.  One unanswered question.  One unsolved mystery.  One still missing, presumed dead, Faraway teen.

And as he lived and breathed, there he sat staring at her. 

Aspen Briar.

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